Cleaning cloth for irons



OGL 30, 1934- w. R. CRAWFORD ET AL 1,978,450

CLEANING CLOTH FOR IRONS Filed April 18, 1934 TOR gem/Vroeg. BY L o/v INV ALL/4271 ATTORNEYS Patented. Oct. 30, 1934 l UNITED STATES Co. Inc., NewYork, N';

. Application April 1s, `1634, '121,080`

` 6' claims. (ici. ca mi Our invention vrelates to a cloth for cleaning or removingv rust or accumulations of dirt from the surfaces of irons,'particularlyfof mechanical ironing machines, `and for waxing` said surfaces.

.1.5. During the ironing of a number of articles, such i as sheets or other flat work, the smooth polished surface of the iron tends to become dulled and roughened, probably due to an etching or an oxidizing action from contact with the moistened `llfabrics, or possibly Vto some extent by deposition of particles or etching agents from the fabric. Such roughened or etched surfaces interfere with `and impair the action of the ironing surfaces and it is, therefore, necessary periodically to remove lvthese roughened surfaces and replace them with a smooth waxed ironing surface.

In mechanical ironing machines these ironing surfaces are not exposed or accessible but are in contact with and, therefore, covered to a greater lgor less extent by conveyors or conveying surfaces which must be removed before the ironing surface is accessible.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning cloth which may be sent through the @ironing machine in the manner of a sheet to be ironed and which will in its passage through the machine remove roughened surfaces or accretions and smooth and wax the ironing surface.

The invention is illustrated by way of example 431Min the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional View showing diagrammatically an ironing machine and showing the manner in which the cleaning cloth is passed through the machine; Fig. 2 is a face View of the cleaning cloth .from the side which is to come into contact with the ironing surface, and Fig. S is a longitudinal section of the ironing cloth shown in Fig. 2.

In our invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, the cleaning cloth l has an Mlarea 11 which is to be sent rst through the ironing machine, that is, it is the front part of the cloth. This area 11 serves as a guide and drawing area for the subsequent areas of the cloth. Following the area 11, a relatively narrow strip 415 of abrasive material 12, such as emery cloth, is

attached to the cloth as, for example, by sewing, as indicated at 13 Figs. 2 and 3. This emery cloth is preferably a relatively narrow strip extending transversely the full width of the clean- 59 ing cloth. It is drawn over the ironing surface while pressed tightly thereagainst by the elements that normally press a sheet to be ironed against the ironing surface. The area thus being pressed against the ironing surface and drawn along the Vcontact with it, the emery removes all roughened portions .or deposits 'and leaves the ironing sur face scoured clean and polished. `Some of the emery powder may, however, be loosened. from the emery `cloth and remain on the ironing sur" face. i Itis taken up, however,and removedby an area .14 of the cloth 10 immediately following the. area 12 and acting to wipe up any grit, emery-or other material Vthat may be left on the ironing surface.-

AVFollowing the area 14 a succeeding `area 15 ,6511;

is covered by` a flap of fabric 16 secured to the. cloth 10 by stitching A1'7 at its front edge. In using the cloth powdered wax is distributed between the area 15 and the iiap 16. As the cloth is drawn over the heated ironing surface this wax k,

melts and soaks into the flap 16 and is thereby brought into contact with the ironing surface. The flap 16 tends to prevent the wax from being deposited too rapidly on the ironing surface or being deposited immediately at the first contact with the surface. The amount of wax that may be deposited on the ironing surface may, however, be in excess of that required or desirable. This excess is removed by a strip 18 of absorptive material, such as flannel, which is stitched at its 80112 front edge to the rear edge of the cloth 10. This flannel strip tends to suck up any excess of wax that may be left on the ironing surface.

The cloth may be made of any suitable material, such as canvas, sufficiently strong and heavy S5 l:

to support the emery cloth and the other areas against the frictional resistance to their passage over the ironing surface.

The manner of using the cloth is shown in connection with the diagrammatic showing of 9091:

Fig. 1. In this view the front edge of the cloth area 11 is placed on the upper surface of an ironing element 19 so that it will be engaged in the opening between the first roll 20 and the surface 19. The cloth is positioned with the emery surface 12 lowermost. As the roll 20 rotates clockwise it draws the cloth 11 forwardly between the roll and the complementary surface of the ironing element 19. The cloth after passing the roll 20 is engaged by successive rolls 21., 22 and 23, 100 the grip of the successive rolls on the carrier 11 serving to draw the emery strip 12, which offers much greater tractive resistance. Then the cloth passes over the rear edge 24 of the ironing ele- 10 ment and is engaged by a belt conveyor 25 and passes in contact with the lower surface 26 of the ironing element. In passing over the edge 24 the cloth is inverted so that the emery areas and the waxing areas are now uppermost and, 11,0

therefore, still in contact with the surface of the iron.

The cloth described above may be passed through the ironing machine in the same manner as a sheet, or other article passed therethrough and, therefore, without stopping the ironing machine or without making any adjustments therein. l It is simply necessary to insert the cloth and let it pass in the usual manner through the machine. By means of the successive action of the emery or abrasive surface the wiping area 14, the waxing area 15 and the absorptive area 18, the ironing surface is cleaned and polished, any grit removed, then waxed and the excess wax removed so that a sheet or other article may be immediately passed through the ironing machine without danger of becoming soiled by wax or loose abrasive material.

Various modifications in detail may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the following claims.

What we claim is:

1. An elongated flexible strip adapted to be fed through the rolls of an ironing machine to treat said rolls and having in succession a portion faced with an abrasive, a wiping portion, a waxing portion, and an absorptive portion.

2. An elongated flexible strip adapted to be fed through the rolls of an ironing machine to treat said rolls and having in succession a guide and tractive portion, a portion faced with emery, a wiping portion, a waxing portion, and an absorptive portion.

3. An elongated flexible strip adapted to be fed through the rolls of an ironing machine to treat said rolls and which comprises a guiding and feeding portion, an abrasive portion, a wiping portion, a waxing portion comprising a double layer of cloth to contain a quantity of wax therebetween, and an absorptive portion.

4. An elongated flexible strip adapted to be fed through the rolls of an ironing machine to treat said rolls and which comprises a guiding and feeding portion, an abrasive portion, a wiping portion, and a waxing portion.

5. A flexible strip adapted to be fed through the rolls of an ironing machine to treat said rolls having attached thereto a strip of abrasive material extending transversely of the direction of movement of said strip at a distance from the front edge of said strip, a doubled portion to contain wax spaced a distance from and following said abrasive portion, and a portion of absorptive material following said doubled portion.

6. A flexible strip adapted to be fed through the rolls of an ironing machine to treat said rolls having a strip faced with an abrasive attached at a distance from the front edge of said strip and extending transversely of the direction of movement of said strip, a doubled portion to contain a quantity of wax following and spaced from said abrasive strip, and an absorptive material following said doubled portion.

WILLIAM R. CRAWFORD. TAL JONZ. 

